Digital explorer
by The pen or The sword
Summary: Alex just wanted to deal with Pariah, he didn't sign up to be transported to some bizarre world full of digital monsters...


Alex was a bit annoyed, he had been wandering the African countryside following a lead on a secretive branch of Gentek. He had hoped to find a lead on the location of pariah, he didn't know what black watch and Gentek wanted with Elizabeth Greene's ill-begotten spawn but he was in no mood to find out. Dana was safe with Ragland in Boston leaving him with a dirge of free time, free time he was splitting between seeing the world and hunting black watch and Gentek.

The world had been disappointing to Mercer, people crawling over top one another in a desperate attempt to reach the top. He had encountered an African warlord terrorizing a small village, after wiping the warlord's group out the villagers had been terrified of him. He couldn't help but wonder if this was all humanity had to offer? Suffering upon suffering for no true purpose? A constant pointless struggle to survive? Fearing what they didn't understand? Was there no better way? Pushing aside his thoughts he approached a large inconspicuous cliff if the memories he stole were correct the Gentek facility was hidden somewhere along this cliff face.

As he began running along the cliff face a strange feeling overcame him, a tingling sensation running throughout his body. His vision turned white, he could no longer feel the cliff edge beneath his feet, it was as if he were floating in a white void. He couldn't comprehend what had happened, he struggled but his body did not move. Where was he? What had happened?

Suddenly searing pain tore through him, a burning sensation that was intimately familiar. The feeling of his body being disintegrated, the same feeling he'd experienced when the nuke went off. The same feeling he'd had when the parasite tunneled through his body consuming him from the inside out. So this was it? A black-watch trap finally took him down? He couldn't help but smirk mockingly, all the work he'd done, all the deaths he caused, just to end here...

Alex could no longer feel his arms or legs, and he could feel the pain burning through his body, approaching his head. He couldn't help but wonder should he feel afraid? He was about to die, to become nothing. Yet fear did not rule him at this moment, only a quite melancholy remained. He regretted the fact he would never be able to speak with Dana again, the fact he would never be able to deal with pariah, the fact Gentek and black watch as mutilated as they were would continue to exist. Despite that, no anger remained within him, this was the end and for the first time in his existence Alex Mercer, blacklight had no more anger left to give. Closing his eyes Alex Mercer embraced nothingness.

* * *

In another time and place, a small black figure wandered a vibrant plain covered in beautiful flowers. Everywhere this black figure stepped the surrounding flowers wilted turning to dust from its presence. This creature was short in stature around four foot five inches, its skin was scaled and pitch black. Three large claws extended from its hands, red accents marked its arms and legs. A large black symbol reminiscent of a bio-hazard warning was emblazoned across its white stomach. But most striking was its large yellow eyes, that practically glowed even beneath the bright sun.

This creature continued its depressed march, head hung low. It had a rather depressing air about it as if the weight of the world bore down on its shoulders. Its melancholy was interrupted by a bright flash, looking up it saw nothing out of the ordinary at first. The sky was still blue, the flowers still a horrendous multi-color spread. It took the creature a moment to spot what had changed. Pressing down on a group of flowers was a puddle of black sludge, nowhere near the most surprising thing this creature had seen but the sludge began moving. Tendrils tore from its surface consuming the surrounding flowers, growing larger.

Jumping back the creature prepared itself for a fight as the slime rose up into a tall shape, it quickly shifted until it settled into a human form. Pale skin, black jacket, and blue pants. Overall the creature that had formed from the sludge resembled the other humans the lizard-like creature had spotted but something set off warning bells in its head. The sludge monsters eyes were wrong, humans didn't have that color of hungry cold blue. Raising it claws the Black Guilmon prepared itself to fight.

* * *

Alex felt shocked as he reformed from a puddle of goo, pulling biomass from the plants around him. Something about it was off though, feeding on the plants didn't feel quite...right. Ignoring this bizarre feeling he forced himself to take form, the sight that greeted him was bizarre. He was standing in a field of multicolored flowers, the sky was a pure blue and there was no sign of the cliff face he had been running on. More shocking though was the giant lizard that had appeared before him.

The strange creature appeared to be in a rather aggressive stance, thus Alex formed claws, hoping to warn the...Thing off. Instead, the creatures eye narrowed reflecting some form of intellect, it opened its mouth and unleashed a black ball of fire. Instinctively Alex formed his arm into a shield to block the projectile, it exploded on contact coating the surface of his shield in black flames. The flames were surprisingly painful, he could feel something in the fire pulling at him, trying to consume him. It reminded him of the parasite, feeling the rage burning through him he lowered the shield forming his armor and claws as he charged the dark lizard.

The lizard leaped away as Alex drew close showing a surprising amount of agility, growling Alex leaped after it. Their claws met with a metallic clang, belying the toughness of the claws. back and forth their claws met metallic clangs and sparks filled the air. Alex smirked as he intentionally shattered the claws on his left hand, reinforcing the muscles within for a powerful strike. The creature was clever though, moving its claws to block just in time. It was launched back rather then impaled upon his fist.

the creature rolled across the ground, killing the flowers around it as it moved. Slowly it rose back to its feet to glare at Mercer rage burning in its eyes. It hacked up a viscous black fluid he could only surmise was its blood. It growled at him threateningly, spewing forth another black sphere. Alex growled leaping over the fireball he smashed into the beast at breakneck speeds, gripping it by the throat he slammed it into the ground repeatedly until the creature seized to move.

Alex raised his other hand forming it into a spike, planning to end the fight before it grew more annoying but as he prepared to finish the beast off it grinned. Opening one of its bruised eyes in victory, too late mercer reacted, the creature's mouth burst open unleashing a massive torrent of black flame. These flames tore into mercer through his armor, something within the flames ripped and tore through him, causing him to stumble back. The lizard slowly rose to its feet as mercer struggled with the flames.

It opened its mouth to push its advantage but mercer was prepared, rearing back his fist mercer slammed them together producing a shockwave that launched the flames from his body and interrupted the fireball approaching him. Slowly rising from his knelt over position mercer reformed the damaged portions of armor with a grin.

Black Guilmon knew it had lost, the slime monster was too strong, its body was already too damaged for it to last much longer. It had already burned through most of it reserves with that extended flame burst. Yet the slime monster still stood, its strange carapace reforming before its very eyes, part of it was angry. It had been fighting for so long, alone for as long as it could remember and this was how it would end? A puddle of slime ripping it from the world, it was cruel yet also fitting. Its whole existence had been nothing more than a cosmic joke, perhaps it was best to embrace the void?

In spite of it's melancholy, the creature raised its undamaged arm to continue the fight, It had fought longer then it could remember and it would die as it lived, fighting. It opened its mouth forming the last of its black flame as it roared and charged. Its claws met a hard surface that flowed like liquid and closed around its wrist. Growling it glared into the cold blue eyes of its no longer armored opponent, at that moment something strange happened. Black electricity ran between them as images entered Guilmons mind.

Pain, a cold table, screaming fear, running followed, bullets tearing through its...No his body, hunger, hunt consume BECOME, loneliness, sick, corrupted, suffering, and overbearing all of it a burning passion to fight, to survive regardless of the cost. The same feelings echoed within Guilmons own being, its memories echoed as it felt the slime creature experience the same feeling, the same connection.

* * *

They were forced apart by a shock wave, the lizard, Guilmon based on the memories Alex had just witnessed. Gripped it's damaged arm looking at him in confusion and caution. The creature seemed to know about as much as he did, Alex was uniquely experienced when it came to sorting through others memories but this felt...different, there was a feeling, a connection, whatever had just happened was far less invasive and brutal then Alex usual means of memory stealing.

Alex eyed Guilmon, the creature was too injured to continue their battle the logical thing to do was finish it off before it caught its second wind. Yet as Alex thought that part of him rallied against it, the creature knew his pain, knew what it was like to fight simply to exist.

Part of him didn't want to kill the creature, still looking at its pitiful state mercer again felt something he wasn't used to guilt. The creature didn't deserve to die here, thus pushing himself to his feet Alex slowly approached Guilmon.

It bared its fangs at his approach and tried to summon more black flames to its mouth, but nothing formed. Its body was too tired to carry on the battle and its eyes betrayed its blatant curiosity. Falling to his knees in front of the creature Alex delicately reached forward to touch the damaged arm, ignoring the guilmon's growl.

Touching the arm he could feel the damage it had taken, focusing he began trying to manipulate it like he would biomass. It was off though as if he were trying to communicate with the biomass from a great distance, or more aptly like he was speaking through a translator. The flesh shifted but not how he expected, it was as if he wasn't interacting with biomass at all. Pushing aside these musing he focused realigning and enforcing the flesh beneath his hands, it took some time but finally, Guilmon was healed. It gazed into mercers eyes thankfulness clear, with a light grin mercer pulled the creature to its feet.

Thus two monsters walked into the distance leaving a desiccated field of flowers behind them.

**So where did they go? What did they do? What point in the timeline/universe does this take place? I have no idea I haven't watched Digimon in forever still I hope you enjoyed this small story! Let me know what you think!**


End file.
